After we took Sasha home, Viktor and Andrusha dropped me at the warehouse and then took off without telling me where they were going. Feeling abandoned, I decided I would read. Realizing I had left my book in Andrusha’s office, I made my way down to his office to grab it.
I walked into the dimly lit office and found Vlad sitting at Andrusha’s desk.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite little hooker.” He lifted his glass to me. His speech was slurred, which told me he was drunk and probably slow. I could definitely outrun him.
“I just came to get my book.”
He motioned grandly with his glass. “Go on, then.”
I grabbed my book and moved back to the door, but his voice followed me.
“You’re going to be the end of us all.”
I swung around to face him. “Excuse me?”
“Andrusha will risk it all, trying to save you. Do you have a magic pussy? What is your hold over him?”
I faltered. “What do you mean, he’s going to risk it all?”
“Don’t be naive.”
I turned and walked rapidly from his laughter, not stopping until I got to the safety of Andrusha’s loft. What was Andrusha risking to keep me safe? Was Vlad even speaking the truth?
Too wound up to read, I paced around the loft. I missed having Sasha by my side. His presence had added a level of comfort I hadn’t even realized. Without him or Andrusha around, I felt extremely vulnerable.
And who is Amelia?
Something had passed over Andrusha’s face when he heard that Amelia was calling. It had been fleeting, but I saw real emotion, and that scared me.
She was obviously Russian, since he had spoken to her in his own language, but the call had been short. Was she an old girlfriend? Someone he had once dated?
For someone who claimed to feel so little for his conquests, he sure felt something when he realized she was calling.
Tossing and turning, sleep eluded me until the early hours of the morning.
I woke up in the middle of the night. Andrusha sat at the foot of the bed, in the shadows, watching me sleep. The dim light of the nightstand did little to illuminate his face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, frightened.
“Nothing. Go back to sleep.”
Sleep would be impossible with him sitting and watching me. I thought about what Vlad had said. About how Andrusha was risking it all. There were so many things about him I still didn’t understand.
“What happened tonight?”
To my surprise, he spoke. “I had a meeting with some other men about Bunko.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the fight got a lot more personal.”
I was scared to even ask. “What happens now?”
“We just have to be smarter than everyone else.”
I decided I would ask the question that had burned inside me all night. “Who’s Amelia?”
Andrusha’s response was to not speak at all.
“Is she someone important?” I asked, unsure why I was so determined to press the issue.
He watched me for a long moment. “She’s someone I knew in Russia before I came to Canada.”
“A girlfriend?”
“At one point, we were engaged.”
My head reared back as I tried to absorb that. Andrusha had claimed he didn’t get serious, and yet he had been engaged to this woman. “What happened? Why didn’t you get married?”
His voice held no emotion. “She decided she didn’t want to marry a poor Russian soldier. So she broke off our engagement when I was away serving in the army, and she married a very wealthy, older man.”
I tried to absorb the full impact of that statement, to imagine what it would feel like to be engaged to Andrusha.
“How long has it been since you’ve talked to her?”
“Eight years.”
“Why did she call you?”
“You’ve got a lot of questions about my past.”
I looked away. I wanted to remind him that he had woken me up by watching me from the end of the bed.
“She’s been looking for me.”
“Why?”
“Her husband died.”
She’s single again. My heart pounded. But I was unsure why this was such a big deal to me. The man came home late at night with lipstick on his collar and stripper glitter on his clothes. Why should a phone call with an old flame be any different? Andrusha had made it very clear that he wasn’t going to make our relationship personal, so it didn’t matter what he did in his downtime.
He was protecting me. I had no business questioning him about anything.
“Did you sleep next to her after you had sex with her?” I felt a burst of heat in my cheeks a moment after I blurted out that question.
He held my gaze. “Yes.”
“Who else have you done that with?” I couldn’t seem to stop the questions.
He shrugged. “No one.”
That told me she was different. Special. She was someone he had loved and lost. Someone who seemed intent on getting back in touch with him. I had no hold over this man, but for some reason, I felt hurt over this news.
He didn’t speak; he didn’t move. He just remained at the foot of the bed, watching me.
I wanted him to make me feel special, even if he didn’t mean it. I crawled down the bed until I kneeled beside him. Then I lost my nerve. He stared at me, waiting to see what I’d do, but I didn’t do anything.
He made an amused noise, but his eyes were serious. “You’d tempt a fucking saint.”
That encouraged me. I lifted my face to his.
A big hand came around my waist, hauling me onto his lap. I faced him, my legs wrapped around his waist. Two big arms pulled me tight against him. A hand pushed into my hair, dragging my head back until I was staring up at his face.
Beneath hooded lids, his eyes glittered. When his mouth came down on my neck, I gasped. Oh god. This was better than I remembered. I willingly exposed my neck to his mouth. My body jolted as his teeth dragged down my skin, his lips sucked, and his tongue tasted.
I felt special.
I captured his face between my hands, so I could bring my mouth to his. He rewarded me with a mind-melting kiss. I moaned as his big hands explored the small of my back beneath my tank top.
I felt his hand move between my legs, fingers pushing beneath the fabric of my panties. I felt a finger push inside of me. I ripped my mouth away from his as I gasped.
Oh. My. God.
“You’re wet.” His mouth chased mine.
That felt better than anything I had ever felt before. Stars buzzed around me when he moved his finger inside of me. A noise came out of me, and I felt his mouth on my neck. My entire focus was on his touch while faint alarm bells went off in the back of my head.
It felt so good.
Did this mean we were going to sleep together? I could see myself going down this path with him, but that didn’t change who he was. He didn’t believe in anything long-term—except with Amelia, to whom he had talked tonight. Tonight I would feel special, but what about tomorrow? I froze up.
“Relax,” he murmured against my mouth.
I pulled my head back so his eyes met mine. I could see fire in his gaze and the temptation to match.
“I can’t,” I whispered.
He removed his hand and stared into my eyes. “That’s okay.”
“I’m scared to have sex with you,” I whispered, trying to explain why I stopped, but could never put into words that I was afraid he’d break my heart.
“You know that’s up to you.”
“Do you still love her?” I asked, showing my last card.
He smiled and pushed the hair off my face. “I’m not sure I ever did.”
I didn’t know how I felt about that answer. “Are you coming to sleep?”
“I have to do some work.”
I moved to crawl off his lap.
“Where are you going?” he growled.
“To bed.”
I was halfway off his lap when he yanked me back. The next kiss left me frantic and shaking. I felt so hot, I thought I’d implode. He lifted his mouth from mine, amused by whatever dazed expression I wore.
“Now you can go to bed.”
